The Demise Of Scottish Labour?

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Above is a chart of all Labour’s seats in Scotland, by their majorities over the SNP.  The first thing you notice is how few traditional Labour V SNP marginals there are. Ochil and South Perthshire, with a Labour majority of 10% over the SNP, is the only seat that would be regarded as a realistic target under ordinary circumstances.

These are not ordinary circumstances.  The dotted line across the chart shows the Labour>SNP swing that has been suggested by the four Scottish opinion polls so far this year. As you can see it’s enough for the SNP to take the large majority of Labour’s Scottish seats.

Below is a graph showing the LibDem majorities over the SNP.

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Lord Ashcroft has published a poll which concentrates on Labour held seats in those areas that voted Yes in the referendum, plus two high profile LibDem seats - both of which show the SNP ahead, returning Alex Salmond to Westminster in Gordon and ousting Danny Alexander).

The full details of Lord Ashcroft’s poll is available here.

I’ve never taken polls too seriously, but Lord Ashcroft’s has to be one of the most detailed.  

How do Labour handle such news?  By resurrecting Gordon Brown!  No sniggering now, although I sniggered myself when I saw the headline ‘secret weapon’.

Scots can be fickle when deciding which party deserves their vote but I doubt if many - with the exception of the die hard Labourites - will listen to a word Mr Brown utters.  They will remember The Vow that wasn’t a vow at all within hours of the referendum result. Older voters will remember the complacency with which Labour has governed Scotland for 40 years.

Will May’s general election see the demise of Scottish Labour? I sincerely hope so.

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Hypocrisy

The Sun broke the story of Fraser Brown's cystic fibrosis shortly after he was born in 2006.

This week in parliament, the soap opera continued when Gordon Brown vented his much-delayed fury on News International for publishing the story, 'reducing the family to tears' and intruding on their private grief. Rupert Murdoch's organisation was part of a 'criminal media nexus' Brown ranted in a performance which confirmed he should never have held the post of Prime Minister.

Back in 2006 the Browns were good friends with Rupert Murdoch and his family. Any normal person would have contacted their friend and let them know how unhappy they were about having a private matter exposed, but not Gordon Brown.  He said nothing.  His distress was so great he continued to invite the Murdochs to his private parties and neither Gordon or Sarah looked unhappy being photographed with Wendi and Rupert Murdoch at Mr Murdoch's annual summer party in London in 2007 (picture).

Rupert Murdoch has refuted Brown's allegations and intends to use his appearance before MPs next week to address the 'total lies' told in parliament.  He will appear alongside his son James and News International CEO Rebekah Brooks.

It's been interesting to watch the game play between senior Westminster politicians and News International the past few days. Every politician cosied up to Murdoch and his senior employees yet it's now clear they've known for years what was going on at NI - an organisation which had become part of the government. Who was responsible for NI gaining so much power?  Our politicians.  They're to blame for this mess, much more than Murdoch.

When Rupert Murdoch entered the British media scene in the 60s, he was welcomed as a force for good. He alone took on the print unions, which were crippling the industry, and won. He introduced a choice of broadcasters for us and the BBC wasn't happy when Sky appeared on our screens. By courting Murdoch our politicians bestowed more and more power upon him.

Let's look at the behaviour of our leaders in the past few days.  Cameron and Clegg weren't prepared to move from their position on the fence until Ed Miliband, who had nothing to lose since Murdoch withdrew his support for the Labour party at the last general election, decided to condemn the actions of NI employees. Suddenly Cameron and Clegg, noting the approval of the public, jumped on the bandwagon. It was only this solidarity which gave Brown the platform to vent his spleen against Murdoch for what he saw as his betrayal at the general election.

We now have political coherence against News International's dubious professional practices but will our leaders be so unrestrained in their criticism of Murdoch after he challenges the 'total lies'?

I have little doubt grubby - and probably illegal - practices occur in other parts of the MSM and I wasn't in the least surprised to learn about the police corruption. The old adage 'everyone has their price' is as true today as it was a hundred years ago. We can only hope that the inquiry instigated by David Cameron will look very closely at other media organisations.

Next Tuesday will be interesting.  Murdoch is a clever man and he knows where the bodies are buried. Thanks to the stupidity of our feeble, inadequate and spineless leaders stuck in their Westminster bubble.

Update 10.20am:  Rebekah Brooks has resigned. Will that make any difference?  Only to David Cameron's house party guest list.

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Measuring The Head May Become A Thing Of The Past For Some

Old Scottish Bowlers from the 1880s

Seen here measuring the head  ie after all bowls have

been delivered measuring to determine which bowl is

nearest the jack.

Over the years I've attended various events at local bowling clubs but I've never quite managed to play the game because, much to the relief of those who know how to get anywhere near the wee while ball, the scheduled times for beginner groups has always coincided with my voluntary work.

Wrongly I assumed bowling clubs were privately owned until I learned the council still manages and maintains seven clubs in central Fife.  Council officials are now insisting that these clubs must pay for maintenance of their greens and pavilions (which are council owned buildings), electricity and water, insurance, machinery and equipment.

Colin Morrison, the president of one of the clubs affected said: "The parks and countryside department have been talking to us over the past three years but it came as a surprise to be told, 'Take over the club or close'.  He complained the membership was too old to push a mower/scarifier or aerator around a green and other sports were sponsored by the council; naming swimmers who are subsidised to the amount of £3.59 per visit.

The most heavily subsidised bowling club is in an MP's constituency. Each member of Galltown in Kirkcaldy is said to be subsidised to the tune of £540 annually.  Given that bowling greens are closed for six months of the year that's a hefty subsidy.  I wonder if they've called on Gordon Brown for assistance.

It would appear that the local authority is keen to offer assistance and according to the service manager for parks and countryside there are 'a lot of options', so why do I get the feeling that Mr Morrison is highlighting this now for purely political reasons, after admitting he'd been in talks about it for three years.

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Britain's 'Privileged' Society

I'm surprised little said in the blogosphere last week about the £billions pensioners lost during the 12 years of Labour government when they fiddled the figures in order to rob us of over £80billion and I wonder if that's because few so bloggers are of pensionable age.  This week the MSM are reporting pensioners are 'privileged'.  Next week we may be proclaimed wealthy because the basic pension is a maximum of £97.65 a week.

Last week the Bank of England's February inflation report showed the Consumer Prices Index between 1997 and 2009 was 0.3% a year higher than official figures had previously stated.  Experts say this miscalculation by the Office for National Statistics cost the average final salary pension holder hundreds of pounds a year.

According to John Broome Saunders, actuarial director of BDO Investment Management: "Had the inflation calculation been done correctly many final salary scheme members would now find themselves entitled to a pension around four per cent higher".

The CPI error stemmed from the misreporting of clothing prices.  The inflation report said: 'Previous collection methods may have biased down estimates of CPI clothing prices'.

Not only did Gordon Brown steal a large chunk of our pensions when he was Chancellor, he was in residence at No 11 when these incorrect projections were published.  A typical 65 year old, after working all their adult life, is now entering retirement with a private pension of just £7,666 a year.  For women it is much less because they were unable to transfer superannuation until the 80s and many cashed in when they moved employers.  Short-sighted?  Yes of course, but it was a valuable and welcome sum to the family finances.  In my own case, I cashed in a few pensions and these days I feel far less guilty than I did prior to my retirement.  At least my young family had the benefit of the cash rather than the government of recent years.

This week pensioners have been called 'privileged' because the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has suggested that we should lose a series of benefits, including free TV licences for the over 75s and the winter fuel allowance.  The idea is to ease the financial squeeze on younger people.

Whilst I understand the need for balancing the books, the IEA needs to look back 50 years and see who were the people responsible for rebuilding Britain after WW11.  These are the pensioners of today who paid willingly for the education of children and care of the elderly throughout their own working lives.

Throughout my lifetime it was understood part of the UK's need for taxation was to provide a basic income for those too old to work.  In recent years pensioners have received additional benefits irrespective of income and the fact that these have not been means-tested has caused the IEA to say some more financially comfortable pensioners are privileged.

I agree with free television licences for over 75s but free bus passes should be means-tested.  I know many reasonably well off pensioners who holiday in Scotland, regularly using their bus passes, but I also know others who would become more or less housebound because they couldn't afford public transport costs with one. Asking younger pensioners to contribute towards the cost of their pass may be worth investigating.

The winter fuel allowance has been a boon to many in the past two years when our winters were severe.  For most on an average to low income it has given them the confidence to know they will be able to pay for keeping the heating on overnight when the temperature was well below zero for many weeks.  Much more discussion is required as to how we can keep our older people warm and to give additional help to those who need it most.

The IEA's report appears to be pitting one generation against the other and that's not the answer.  The generations should be working together to resolve the issue and once the younger generations realise just how much many of today's pensioners have been robbed, as mentioned at the start of this post, they may be more sympathetic to their anxieties.

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Gordon Brown's Porkies

The al-Megrahi release raises its head again in today's Telegraph.  It alleges a Foreign Office minister, Bill Rammall, sent Libyan officials detailed legal advice on how to use Mr al-Megrahi's cancer diagnosis to ensure he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.

Several times Gordon Brown insisted the British government had no involvement whatsoever in the release of al-Megrahi, yet he must have been aware a Foreign Office minister was in direct contact with Libyan officials.

The Telegraph has published more than 480 American documents which were obtained by the Wikileaks website and passed to the newspaper.

The unionist Scotsman takes the line that the documents will 'heighten pressure on the SNP administration at Holyrood to reveal the full extent of discussions with the UK government about how and when Megrahi could be released'.  I see no evidence of any impropriety from the Scottish government in the few documents supplied online by the Telegraph.  What I do see, if the documents' facts are accurate, that Gordon Brown lied.

Surely now Dr Swire will be granted his independent inquiry.

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Afghanistan, Dannatt and Honesty

A British soldier from the Royal Scots Borders, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, has been killed in an explosion if Afghanistan. He was serving as part of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force when killed by a last on Nad-e Ali District of Helmand.

This soldier was killed by a Rocket Propelled Grenade.

Another soldier, from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, has died in the UK from injuries sustained in Afghanistan.

Now we have 333 of our military personnel killed in this war and 88 of those died this year. That doesn't mean the deaths of those in previous years are any less important but it does show the so-called strategy is non-existent as I've said before. Politicians are winging this war in the hope that all their lies, repeated on a daily basis, will be believed by their electorate. If oil wasn't connected with this country, and others in the middle east, we would never have been present.

As for the revelations in Sir Richard Dannatt's book, I'm angry - nay furious. If he felt that Blair and Brown weren't treating our armed services well then - after doing his upmost to improve the situation - he should have resigned. That would have been the biggest statement anyone in a position of power, be it military or political, could have made. Yet he continued in the post. Of course we know why, because he would have lost his extremely handsome pension if he hadn't hung on until his retiral. If he truly believed his men and women were being compromised then he should have spoken out. Told the truth. But he didn't.

That's part of the problem with the heirarchy of the military. Most of our armed forces work for far less than they would receive in a Civvie Street job, yet they're aware they are entitled to a reasonable pension, if they enlist long-term, upon retirement. If they resign then the pension is radically reduced.

That doesn't happen in the 'public' sector does it? Seems within councils if you're hopeless at a job then they'll pay you a fortune to get rid of you.

That apart, would Dannatt's resignation on a point of principle saved lives? Who knows - only those at the front line know the truth and I doubt many of them will be writing books which will be promoted in the MSM. Sometimes it's better to stick to the modern saying: Either put up or shut up. That can save lives.

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Charity Begins At Home

It's reported Gordon is touting round for a highly-paid speaking tour to talk about the financial crisis and how to avoid another one. Stop laughing or you'll spill your coffee.

It's understood he's in talks about engagements based on his new book The Financial Crisis and is keen to hit the lecture circuit in the Middle East and Asia for a fee of $100,000 (£60,000) for each speech.

His fee is well under the £180,000 plus his Labour predecessor Blair is said to command but it would considerably boost his post-Downing Street income. Mind you, it does fly in the face of his declaration that he intended to devote the next stage of his career to charitable and worthy causes but then again, we must remember charity begins at home.

One report claims he is demanding to travel in style with conditions including five star hotel accommodation, one first class seat and three business class seats on flights. That would indicate Sarah would be consigned to business class if she does with him which, if speculation proves correct, she may well do. She's said to be on offer for $20,000 (£13,000) as an 'optional extra' to present a prize at award ceremonies where he speaks.

A labour 'insider' said:

“It seems that after following in his footsteps as PM, seeking to do charity work and writing books, Gordon is now determined to still follow in Tony’s shadow by going on the speaking tour. That’s another comparison in which he is bound to come second.”

Ouch! What else can I say without making the man look more ridiculous?

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Gordon Brown Resurfaces

No, he hasn't reinvented himself as a cheetah, but our ex-Prime Minister has made an appearance at an African Union summit in Uganda.

According to a report, he was seen sitting in the corner of a restaurant nursing a glass of water for an hour.

Nobody guessed that when he reappeared it would be in Uganda with a speech about Africa being the potential engine for global economic growth.

The decision will fuel rumours that Brown has his eye on the top job at the International Monetary Fund or the United Nations or a role as a special envoy, but it's also true that Africa's development and its economic progress are subjects which fascinate him. His track record is respected by African leaders.

Poor man still obviously worships Barack Obama. "I think you all know that President Obama spent some time as a community organiser before becoming a politician. I'm somebody who spent some time as a politician before becoming a community organiser," he said.

Which community does he intend to organise? He did his best to destroy community in Britain.

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No 10's Secret Room

Gladstone's Red Box

courtesy of the National Archives

Fellow blogger Old Rightie has periodically mentioned Gordon Brown's 'bunker' in No 10. Little did he realise his musings weren't far off the mark.

Iain Martin has uncovered another little historical detail that reveals quite a lot about the way in which No 10 was run under Gordon Brown.

To summarise: It has been tradition for ministerial papers to be placed in 'red boxes' by officials at the end of their working day. The red boxes are then delivered to the relevant minister for them to work through them during the evening until they are empty.

But this wasn't good enough for Gordon Brown. He had a special signing room set aside and officials would lay out on a large table the papers that various ministers, officials and departments wanted dealt with. Brown would then scan the selection, review those which caught his attention and sign them with his black marker pen. Other papers would just be left.

There is more detail on Iain Martin's blog. The fact that Sarah Brown requested a string of experts be brought in when she realised her husband was struggling speaks volumes.

More verification that Gordon Brown thought himself to be superior to all his predecessors. Is it any wonder we're in the mess we are if the then Prime Minister was picking and choosing issues instead of making decisions on everything laid before him.

Thankfully David Cameron has returned to the tried an tested tradition of receiving his red box each evening. A small change in government procedure from Labour's days, but a welcome one.

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Labour Memoirs and Mini-Memoirs

We're told Gordon Brown is writing his memoirs in his rather lovely home overlooking the Firth of Forth. We're also told Peter Mandelson is hoping to publish his memoirs ahead of Gordon's and it will be called The Third Man (no grinning at the back please).

Today the Independent publish the mini-memoirs of Phil Woolas. He allegedly kept a diary of his final months in office.

Yes I've read it. Believe me I did try to squeeze out a modicum of sympathy. Then I tried a modicum of empathy. Then I laughed until I cried. Phil Woolas was a major player in the last government. Is it any wonder we're in the mess we are?

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The Absconder Returns

Rumour has it here that Gordon Brown was last seen on the Summer Solstice ploughing through the snows of the Cairngorms (pictured) along with several all-weather skiers.

However, he appears to have dusted himself down, donned his uniform of suit and drab tie and taken the Easyjet to London. Quentin Letts has the lowdown.

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Brown's Final Gift to Cameron

Is it any wonder I can't tolerate Gordon Brown? His lies and obsession with his presbyterian upbringing made me realise he is obsessed with power and will do and say anything to be seen as one of the great leaders of the world. Thankfully history will not record him as being successful as chancellor or PM.

One of the final acts of Brown in his dying days in No 10 was to order the Prime Minister's salary to be cut from £194,000 to £150,000. This was done with such stealth that no formal announcement was ever made.

It would appear David Cameron had no idea that, when he entered No 10, he would be earning only marginally more than he had as the leader of the Opposition. The 5% cut he introduced - across the board cuts in ministerial salaries - during his first days as PM took his salary down to £142,000.

Doesn't this action show the devious, spiteful and calculating character of one of the worst PMs we have ever had? I certainly think so.

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Some Things Money Can't Buy

Today was the State Opening of Parliament which all elected MPs should attend. Yet there was one very obvious absentee.

Gordon Brown is the MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath yet he was nowhere to be seen. I'm informed he's been out and about in Fife so why couldn't he not represent the people who elected him at this traditional ceremony?

Within many sectors of society there are events each employee must attend without excuse or question. Not for one minute could I visualise any member of the military ignoring a traditional occasion to which they had been 'invited'. It is their responsibility to attend or pay the consequences.

In his 'farewell' speech Gordon Brown said he did not enjoy the socialising side of being PM. Surely it occurred to him that being 'people' friendly' was a vital party of any public service job. Unless he produced a sick note for today then I consider his non-attendance most discourteous. Then again Mr Brown isn't known for his good manners or courtesy. It goes to show that they're something not even millionaire labour ex-prime ministers can buy.

During lunch, around 12.40pm, I switched on Sky News to find Angus Robertson being interviewed. In recent weeks I've been critical of SNP MPs and MSPs being negative in their speeches and interviews, but it was a pleasure to see Mr Robertson being positive about the contents of the Queen's Speech which affected Scotland. In fact he was very nearly complimentary! Well done Mr Robertson - more of the same please. Let Scotland be seen as having a courteous, dignified government and not the negative, spinning and profoundly ill-mannered attitude that pervades the labour party.

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Brown to Resurface for Scottish Elections

It's rumoured Gordon Brown has asked to be given a role in the Labour party's Holyrood campaign for the Scottish Parliament elections next year.

The leader of Labour's MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, Iain Gray, says that Brown's offer, in an unsolicited letter, has been taken up by the party as it begins its attempt to unseat Alex Salmond by this time next year.

I thought Mr Brown was going to spend his spare time undertaking charity work. Campaigning for the labour party could, I suppose, be loosely interpreted as such.

Tom Brown, Mr Brown's old school pal, believes that Gordon wants one of the world's most important economic jobs as head of the International Monetary Fund. IMK insiders are thought to consider the former PM the ideal candidate to take over when France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn's term ends in 2012. Internationally his reputation remains intact and he is admired for the way he tackled the global banking crisis. An IMF source said: "He is very well regarded."

Jobs for the boys right enough. Of course Gordon Brown is 'well regarded' by the IMF - he saved the jobs of his banking friends. The article does mention that David Cameron may try to veto the appointment though as he accuses Brown of creating Britain's economic mess.

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Brown's Lasting Legacy

Many commentators are saying Gordon Brown will be fondly remember in the history books as a good chancellor and a Prime Minister who handled the 'global' recession effectively.

I disagree. Many of us political watchers have been saying for some time that he was introducing a 'scorched earth policy' and it would appear we were right (again).

Billions of pounds in public money was committed in the run-up to the election campaign in a deliberate strategy to boost Labour's chances at the ballot box and sabotage the next government. This week the chancellor, George Osborne, will prepares to reveal details of an initial £6 billion of cuts to help reduce the £163 billion deficit.

The 'black holes' already unearthed include a £13 billion tanker aircraft programme; £420m of school building contracts signed off by Ed Balls just weeks before the election was called; the £1.2 billion 'e-borders' IT project for the immigration service; the multi-billion pound cost of decommissioning old nuclear power plants and a £600m computer contract for the new personal pensions account scheme rushed through by Labour this year. It will still cost at least £25m even if it is cancelled.

Gerald Howarth, the new Tory minister for defence procurement, disclosed that the financial pressures on the MoD were even graver than he had been expecting. "The appetite for new programmes exceeded the capacity of the MoD's stomach, particularly in the run-up to the election," he said. "In the past few months there was a rush of new orders. What we are going to have to do is ensure the equipment programme matches the military need."

Nothing there that should surprise any of us is there and that's only the beginning. George Osborne intends to announce a freeing of spending on new IT projects, stopping most public sector recruitment and renegotiating deals with government suppliers. He has a very difficult task to sort out the mess and the pressure is on him from many areas - not least Vince Cable who wanted his job.

Transport for London, controlled by Boris Johnson, has bought out the shareholders of subway contractor Tube Lines for £310m. Mr Johnson said that the deal freed London Underground and private contractors from 'the perverse pressures of the Byzantine PPP structure."

Should Scotland manage to negotiate the right to borrow finance, I wonder if they will rid us of these exorbitant PPP and PFI contracts created by the last labour/libdem administration. It would be money well spent in the long term if the contracts cannot be renegotiated, which seems to be the case at present.

Gordon Brown's legacy for the UK will be one of not saving during the good years and spending extravagantly during the bad. I won't mention the selling of our gold, the robbery involving pensions, the loss of the 10p tax band and the billions given by DFID for projects which appear dodgy to say the least. I've no wish to be blamed for causing anyone indigestion on a Sunday morning.

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The Long Goodbye

Gordon Brown is to step down as leader of the Labour party before their party conference in September.

I've just witnessed a superb rammy (shouting match) between Alistair Campbell and Adam Bolton on Sky. I do so hope they clip it so that those of you who missed it can see Campbell wind up Adam Bolton until he explodes.

Back to the subject. In Gordon Brown's statement he implies his actions will now open the way for formal talks between the Labour party and the Libdems.

This plays well into the hands of Scotland and the SNP. I won't analyse it further - enough bloggers will do so - but I would say to David Cameron let them get on with it. Any government which wishes to ignore the deficit for another 12 months is one which will bring the country to its knees. Ignoring the state our finances are in is not in the interests of the country.

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Brown Out

Fellow blogger Jess the Dog is promoting a postcard campaign. Not only that he intended to deliver one to Gordon Brown this morning.

Jess lives within easy travelling distance of North Queensferry, the Browns' Scottish home, where it is said they fled to yesterday and are now returning to London. All seems lost for the man who once was the saviour of the world but his departure from Downing Street won't be a dignified event.

There has been some excellent blogging on the present situation. Two particularly caught my eye, this one and this one. Both bloggers come from differing ends of the political spectrum. Good news from John Redwood this morning. He's advocating 'It's time for us conservative to speak for England'. Suits me fine.

Update: Jess has written a brief account of his visit to Inverkeithing at his place.

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Good Old Gordon

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Not for the Faint Hearted

The soon-to-be-ex Prime Minister and his minder made an appearance on ITV's GMTV this morning. I didn't see it but heard about it on radio. Brace yourself for the luv-in.

He's still pedaling the lie that child credits will be removed by the other parties. Not one word about the debt we owe and that labour isn't going to start paying it off until next year, leaving us paying a massive amount in interest.

Seeing the man who wants to continue governing this country clinging onto his wife on daytime television and insisting he's the only person who can save us is embarrassing to say the least.

Listen to his reply about would he stand down if he didn't win: "If I couldn't make difference anymore I'd go off and do something else. Sarah and I might do charity voluntary work. I don't want to do business or anything like that. I just want to do something good and if you can't make a difference in the job you're doing, just my very thought, thought of what... is to go and do something else to help other people."

Gordon Brown knows he's finished. This interview is the start of the Browns' double act as charity workers. There will be a lot more to come in the future - be warned.

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A Few Facts About Gordon Brown

Sent to me by a person who was a life-long labour voter but says he will never vote labour again:

A few interesting facts about Gordon Brown

We used to have 6 independent regulators to regulate the different divisions of the financial services industry, including our Banks.
(Margaret Thatcher knew what the Banks were like and in the 1988 Finance Act she bound the Banks up in regulation to prevent them from being reckless!!!)

Then Gordon Brown became Chancellor on 6th May 1997

1. Gordon's banker friends said "We want all these regulators to go, we don't want regulators watching everything we do" AND GORDON SAID OK

So, Gordon announced on the 20th May 1997 (2 weeks after becoming Chancellor) that the six regulatory bodies would be broken up and a new Financial Services Authority would replace them. The FSA had virtually no powers over the Banks and he also took away the powers from the Bank of England to enforce regulation on them. The result is the devastation we are all suffering today.

2. We used to have a Monopolies and Mergers Commission

Then Gordon's banker friends said we don't want the Monopolies and Mergers commission telling us who we can and can't "Take Over" AND GORDON SAID OK

So, in 1998 Gordon scrapped the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and created a replacement called the Competition Commission, with very much reduced powers and different ideas of what used to be regarded as a "Monopoly".

The result is the Massive Corporations we have today who are ruling and shaping our lives for their own benefit and profits. Not to mention the massive Monopolies held by some of these corporations through the forced purchases of all their competitors.

3. We used to have pension regulations, which included something called "The Pensions Cap".

The pensions cap set a limit on how much pension any scheme member (including directors) could get from an occupational pension scheme, irrespective of how high their earnings were. It was there to protect the ordinary members pensions. To prevent Directors paying themselves obscene salaries and then draining the pension funds with huge pensions.

Then Gordon Brown's banker friends said that they wanted the pensions cap removing so that they could get pensions related to their obscene earnings.
(The whole Pensions industry gave him warnings of the effects it would have. Even the Inland Revenue put forward objections) BUT GORDON SAID OK
Because Gordon never likes to disappoint his banker friends.

So Gordon took away the Pensions Cap in 2005 and then some of his friends were able to leave their boardroom positions with huge pensions!!!
For example Fred Goodwin was apparently entitled to a pension of over £700,000
If Gordon had left the pensions cap in place that would have been a mere £125,000
Well done Fred and your mates!!!

(The Superannuations Division of the Inland Revenue have kept a record of what it should be, in readiness for when we get a new chancellor who sees fit to re-instate it. George Osborne has pledged to do that). The record of Pensions Cap limits are available to view on the Revenue's website.

4. The result of this is that along with Gordon's "Tax Raid" on pension funds starting July 1997, over four thousand UK company pension scheme's have closed their doors to new members and many of them have had to close down altogether, leaving millions of workers without any pension provision. This man Gordon Brown "professes to be a socialist and "for" the working man.

The working man's main form of long term financial security had for many years been his company pension scheme, something to look forward to at the end of a life of hard work, his reward, light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Gordon has put an end to that by destroying the most valuable asset of the average British worker.

5. It is one of the greatest travesties of justice that this man, who pretends to be 'for the working man' has in fact been his worst enemy for the last thirteen years and will leave a legacy that we will be clearing up for man years to come.

The real injustice is that it's all been done in areas which are totally out of sight to the general public and beyond the understanding of many.

GORDON RELIES ENTIRELY ON PEOPLE'S IGNORANCE TO GET AWAY WITH HIS INDISCRETIONS.

GORDON'S MOTTO: "DENY EVERYTHING AND ADMIT NOTHING" SEEMS TO WORK QUITE WELL!

6. LASTLY, WHAT GORDON LIKES TO CALL THE "GLOBAL BANKING CRISIS"

Have you noticed that we were the first to be in it and are the last to be out (and whether we are out is very speculative!)

As he has openly admitted, The Royal Bank of Scotland was the world's biggest bank.
So when RBS and HBOS were about to go BUST in October 2008 and they had to be bailed out overnight so they did not take the entire country down with them, (that by the way was almost certainly a decision made by the hierarchy in Whitehall for which Gordon loves to take the credit).

As the world's leading banks now all lend money to each other on a collosal scale, isn't it obvious that the worlds biggest bank going down would have a devastating effect on all the others it dealt with. This "world's biggest bank" had also sold bad mortgage books to other banks.

Most of the Banks in Europe which ran into crisis were dragged into it because of the crooked dealings of our big banks. A fact that both Germany and France were quick to remind Gordon Brown of at the G20 emergency meeting shortly after the crisis.

There are many other of Gordon's indiscretions, far too many to list here, but perhaps the few biggies shown above will give some insight into how Gordon operates.

By the way have you noticed how he has suddenly become interested in Social Issues now an election is looming and seems to be able to promise the world when, as Alistair Darling put it a few days ago, there is not a penny left in the bank!!!

Think very carefully before casting your vote for this man who is probably the most extreme capitalist of the past century while pretending to be "for the working man".

GORDON WORSHIPS THE SUPER RICH AND POWERFUL AND CANNOT SAY NO TO THEM.

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